Shadows with Tales to Tell - The Grim Islands

What dreams await us in this realm of shadows?

Race and Class Changes

General Race Changes

A few races have been added and altered for this campaign. Some of these races come from Thunderscape — The World of Aden, while others come from a myriad of other publications found on d20pfsrd. The general rules for races are as follows:

Racial alignment subtypes have been removed due to the lack of an alignment system, which means that no creature is inherently good or evil. Both culture and personal experience determine someone’s personality, though more often than not members of a specific race are bound by the same cultural norms.

Spell-like abilities gained through a race are not converted into sphere abilities, but they also do not count as spells for the purpose of qualifying for prestige classes. Some races will have the option to trade out their sphere abilities for others.

Races that gain bonus caster levels with certain spell types receive this benefit to both rituals and sphere abilities that would correspond with their effects.

Favored-Class bonuses are not given in this campaign; the bonuses inherent to Adventurers and Dreamers should serve to make up for this minor drawback.

Some races and alternate racial features would not fit well into this campaign world, for either balance or thematic reasons. With this being the case, please ask before taking a race or alternate racial feature that is not listed below. Depending on the character concept, some leeway may be given on this matter.

Race-Specific Changes

Faerkin — Faerkin are a race from Thunderscape — The World of Aden, and are available for play in this campaign.

Ferrans — Ferrans are a race from Thunderscape — The World of Aden, and all three types (Brute, Predator, and Sneak) are available for play in this campaign.

Goreaux — Goreaux are a race from Thunderscape — The World of Aden, and are available for play in this campaign.

Half-Blood — Half-Bloods are the children of parents from more than one race, having mixed bloodlines. Simply ask, and a new race could be yours to play!

Jurak — Jurak are a race from Thunderscape — The World of Aden, and are available for play in this campaign.

General Class Changes

Many classes and archetypes have been added, altered, or banned. This is due both to the alignment rules and the introduction of 3’rd Party material, especially where Laying Waste, Spheres of Power, and Rogue Glory are concerned. The general rules for classes are as follows:

Arcane and Divine classes (except for some special exemptions) are banned, as they often do not mesh well with the Spheres of Power system. They are replaced with the classes from Spheres of Power.

These special exemptions are the Bard, Paladin, and Ranger.

Guns and cybernetics do not exist in this campaign. Any class with proficiency in firearms is replaced by proficiency in repeating crossbows and needle launchers.

Class features and restrictions relying on alignment are replaced or removed, depending on their importance to the class.

Players intending to take a Prestige Class should make this intention known in advance, as some PrCs interact strangely with the new combat systems in place. It is generally best not to base a character concept around such a class unless you are certain that it will not have strange or volatile interactions.

Class-Specific Changes

Barbarian — Barbarians may take the Oiorpata, Tower of Iron Fury, and Vandal archetypes from Laying Waste.

Bard — Bards must take the Sphere Bard archetype from Spheres of Power.

Monk — Monks may take the Bajiquan and Pressure Point Master archetypes from Laying Waste, but are not allowed to take the Zen Archer archetype. Additionally, all Monks are subject to the following changes:

When making a Ki Strike at 10th level, Monks may choose to treat their unarmed strikes as one of the material alternatives listed on Alignment-Free Characters. This choice is permanent once made.

Paladin — Paladins must take the Sphere Paladin archetype from Spheres of Power. Because Paladins are no longer restricted to good, evil, law, or chaos, they are ruled and powered by their dedication to a respective philosophy. Regardless of their philosophy, all Paladins are subject to the following changes:

Paladins lose “Aura of Good” and “Detect Evil.”

Paladins change “Smite Evil” into “Smite Enemy.” The damage on the first attack is increased against all types of aberrations, outsiders, and undead. “Aura of Justice” allows any ally within its area to “Smite Enemy.”

“Aura of Faith” and “Aura of Righteousness” now allow the Paladin to choose DR materials from the list of alternatives found on Alignment-Free Characters. “Holy Champion” further improves the DR of whatever material is chosen.

Ranger — Rangers that cast spells must take the Sphere Ranger archetype from Spheres of Power. Alternatively, a Ranger may take the Skirmisher or Trapper archetypes, if they do not wish to cast spells. Any Ranger may additionally take the Dakini archetype from Laying Waste.

Rogue — Rogues all gain the Glory Rogue features, and may additionally take the archetypes listed in Rogue Glory.